Worst time of the day



I am not a morning person, so you would probably think that the worst time of the day for me would be 6:00 a.m. when my alarm goes off.  While that is true, the worst time of the day for me is by far the evening after work.  Monday through Friday 8-4:30 I am the queen of healthy eating.  I avoid bad foods at work all day, I make sure I eat my healthy meals and snacks and I drink a ton of water.  When the clock strikes 5:00 and I am almost home it is like a switch turns on. 

There are advertisements on the radio for food.

There is a basket of candy for treak or treaters at my house.

There is a bag of nacho cheese doritos in my cupboard.

There is a coupon for chinese food in my mailbox.

There is my brain telling me that one night of deliciousness can't really be that bad...

So what did I do?  Radio turned off.  Basket of candy put on a high shelf out of sight.  Doritios doused in water and vinegar and thrown away.  Coupon straight into the shredder.  Open up my computer and read some weight loss articles and success stories to remind my brain what the goal is.

Dramatic?  Not really.  It may seem to an outsider that I should just be able to avoid it all, but I am not there right now.  I am at the point where I have to get it away from me or else I will convince myself that one night off track is okay.  I have to get it away from me to reach my goal.  I have to keep going with my 8-4:30 in order to make this weight loss a success.  Does anyone else struggle with this?  Does anyone else have to remove temptation from right under their nose for fear that they will eat an entire basket of candy or bag of chips?  It drives me crazy.  I am happy that I am working through some of these issues with a counselor and I hope that one day soon I can have those things around me and eat them in moderation or avoid them completely, but I am just not there right now.

Right now it is 8:33 a.m. and I am eating a banana and oatmeal and it feels as though the world is my oyster.  I feel like I can accomplish anything.  Like I can resist all temptation.  I plan to ride this feeling out and hope that when 5:00 strikes I am one day closer to kicking these feelings to the curb.

And the mystery ingredients are...

Brussel Sprouts

On my quest to try new vegetables and fruits every week I decided that there was no better time than the present to try brussel sprouts.  I can honestly say that I have never tried them.  I don't know much of anything about them really other than the fact that it seems as though you either love them or hate them.  It comes from the cabbage family, it is a leafy green color and it contains vitamin A&C, folic acid and dietary fiber.  Good enough benefits for me to eat it.  So I started thinking about how to prepare this for the first time and I wondered if anyone has any good recipes?  I hear that people steam them, bake them, boil them and even chop them up and throw them in salads and pasta!  So adventurous!



Mango

My new fruit of the week (which isn't "new" because I have had it) is mango.  I have had mango before, but it isn't somthing that I usually buy, so I decided to grab a few since they were on sale.  I am trying to break out of my current habit of buying apples, bananas and grapes.  There is so much more in this world than those 3 fruits and I am determined to try as many as possible.

Lunches for the week are salads galore.  Packed with proteins (egg, grilled chicken), more veggies (carrots, slaw, onion, peppers, tomato) and a dash of vinigrette.  I am really excited to be doing a mixture of salads. I have realized that I usually eat a heavier dinner, so I am trying to keep lunches lower in carbs to balance out my evenings.  I do think its important to have a mixture of carbs all day long.  It makes me feel icky when I just eat vcarbs late at night and then go to bed.  Yuck!

Recent food temptations fought: buffalo chicken pizza, donuts and potato wedges. I decided I am going to try to turn my temptations into reality somehow, so I am bound and determined to make a healthy spin on buffalo chicken this week, so be on the look out for that.  Happy Tuesday!

Take Me out to the Ball Game

Happy Friday Everyone!  What are your plans this weekend?  Is anyone getting out in their yard and gardening like me!?  I am so excited to get my other two window baskets up and get all of my flowers planted.  Tell me what you're excited about this weekend!?


Last night I went with friends to a Twins game and it was wonderful!  It was a cooler night and slightly overcast, but it wasn't blazing hot and it didn't rain, so I can't complain.  A group of us from work go to a Twins game every year and it is a lot of fun.  I was bummed that Ron couldn't go this year because he had school, but I took one of my best friends Kelsey who is also one of my maids of honor.

We always go to the Imperial Room downtown beforehand because they have a FREE mashed potato bar, amazing buffalo chicken strips with homemade blue cheese and cheap drinks for happy hour.  I am proud to say that I looked all of these temptation's in the eye and went a completely different and healthier direction.  I had a water and half of a quesadilla with half the amount of cheese.  It was really good and in all honesty I was so busy being social that I didn't even miss the food or alcohol.


When we got to the stadium I was once again tempted by delicious warm french fries, ice cream helmets filled with crunchy and sweet toppings, hot dogs, snow cones, peanuts... okay you get it.  I could go on forever.  I literally stood 100 feet away from my friends who were in line and faced the field and not the concession stands because I knew that right now that was my only choice.  I am not going to sit here and pretend like my will-power is iron clad.  It is far from it. 


I was able to fight temptation the entire game despite everyone around me indulging in ballpark goodies.  It felt really good.  It is a small step in a long journey, but it is one that will help me build up my strength and willpower.

I have to stop and tell myself that a moment happiness now is not worth sacrificing a lifetime of happiness in the future.

All too often I have fallen into the category of,  "it is just one ice cream cone, it is only one thing of french fries."  Or else I will say to myself, "I can always start this tomorrow or on Mondy."  The classic line lie that I tell myself is, "This will be so much easier when this event is over, or when we're done moving, or when we don't have so many parties to go to."  Blah.  Excuses make me sick. I am sick of my excuses and I am really sick of being fat.  I know that losing weight is never wasy.  I know that there isn't a better time than now.  I know that I am in control of myself and my actions and what I put in my mouth.  I know if I don't lose this weight now I may never do it because life will get more difficult and I will get more discouraged with each pound I gain.  So the time is now.  There is no better time than the present and I am taking control of my life and my eating habits.  I have the willpower to say no and the power to win this battle once and for all.

Donuts and Bridesmaids

Happy Friday everyone?  Was this the longest week on record?  I seriously felt like I was crawling to get to this point.  It could also be because I have a serious case of Spring fever.  The other day it was still semi light at 5:00 PM and I immediately started to daydream of rooftop patios, being at the lake, working out outside, etc.  I need this snow to melt already!  This is probably wishful thinking as I live in Minnesota and sometimes it snows in April, so I shouldn't get too ahead of myself.

Today was someone's last day at work and they brought in donuts.  Not just regular old donuts, but donuts the size of your head with sprinkles and even.... an apple fritter.  I went into the break room and filled my water bottle.  I sat at the opposite table and smelled the donuts.  Yum.  They smelled absolutely delicious.  I walked out of the room and sat down.  10 minutes later I was still thinking about donuts.  I walked back in to the break room.  Apple fritter was gone.  I decided sprinkles sounded good.  I cut the giant donut in half, so now probably only 400 calories instead of 800, haha.  I looked at it, was just about to pick it up and I RAN out of the room.  I walked to my desk, picked up my bowl, filled it will oatmeal and put it in the microwave.  I walked back and ate it.  After 10 minutes I was full, satisfied and not thinking about donuts.  WIN!

Anyway,  what does your weekend look like?  Playing workout games on your gaming system?  Hitting the gym hard?  Grocery shopping?  Okay, that is my weekend, but maybe some of you are doing similar things?  I have a happy hour after work (already looked at the menu to decide what to eat) and no alcohol.  I then have a birthday party at a bowling alley tonight.  Tomorrow is a big day of wedding stuff.  We are going to look at a couple more venues and we are also asking our bridesmaids and groomsmen to be in our wedding.    How did you guys ask people?  Just walk straight up and ask them?  Did you write them a nice card?  Give them something?  I have an idea of what I want to do, but I always welcome advice.  So tell me how you asked people to be in your wedding!?

Have a safe, healthy weekend.  Remember the next 180 days (6 months) will come quickly.  Will you be closer to your goal?  or maybe even at your goal?  Don't look in the mirror in July and say, "I wish I would have started sooner!"

Temptation

Originally Posted 7/15/2010 10:53 AM CDT

It feels like the temptation gets less and less everyday.  On the first two days I found that my mouth was salivating thinking about french fries or sweets.  Last night I had a delicious dinner and for dessert I had some refreshing watermelon slices.  It was satisfying and I didn't even think about other tempting sweets.

My brother-in law has lost over 100 pounds in a little over a year and he looks and feels great.  I think one of the biggest things that I took from his weight loss journey was that the time is going to to pass either way, whether I do something about it or not.  He was right.  A year later he is 100 pounds lighter and I am essentially the same.  This is a HUGE motivation for me right now.  In a year I can have a whole new body and a better outlook on life.

Sometimes I find myself fantasizing about being able to wear certain clothing or shopping in certain stores.  I always find myself saying, "Oh, I can't wait until I can wear that someday."  It was as though I know that I am going to be skinny someday and I am just pro-longing the inevitible.  I imagine myself in my friend's wedding and hopefully as a bride myself someday and when I think about these events I am thin, happy and healthy.  It's like I know how I want my future to be, but I wasn't doing anything about it.  It feels so good to be commiting to a healthy lifestyle and to just feel better.  I want to be the person that I invision myself being and not the unhealthy person that has literally weighed me down for such a long time.

I hope everyone is doing well in their weight loss journey.  I am so thankful for this site and all of the people that I have met so far.  I know that we can all meet our goals one day at a time.  Just think, the time will pass one way or another, so why not let it pass while you lose weight and feel great?!